Everlasting
by StarbuckJayne
Summary: Some more Mulder family reminiscing...


Everlasting  
By Starbuck_Jayne  
  
Rating: PG (total stab in the dark, but   
nothing offensive that I can think of)  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these   
characters they belong to Fox, 1013   
productions and Chris Carter   
  
Feedback: Oh don't make me beg! No   
seriously, feedback is very much   
appreciated.  
  
Author's Notes: This is my first time  
posting to this archive so lemme know  
if I have done something really wrong!  
  
Everlasting  
Starbuck_Jayne  
  
She didn't know what it was exactly that   
stirred her from sleep, but a quick glance   
at the clock on the nightstand told her it   
was too early to be getting-up-time. She   
turned on her side, only to discover that   
she was alone in the bed, but the space   
usually occupied by her partner was still   
warm, suggesting he hadn't been gone long.   
With an inward groan Scully flicked on her   
bedside lamp and was momentarily blinded by   
the sudden glare. As her eyes adjusted to   
the light she heaved herself out of bed; it   
seemed like she spent her whole life chasing   
after that man! Samantha's ragdoll fell   
from its position on the dresser, startling   
her as she stumbled over it. She knew that   
Mulder had intended for the doll to be a   
gift for their baby, but somehow she didn't   
like to part with it, using the excuse that   
"dolls were for girls". Mulder had just   
grinned and positioned the doll on the   
dresser instead. Sometimes it was as if he   
could read her mind or something-he   
understood her so well! Then again, you're   
likely to be close to someone that you've   
known for over eight years.  
Scully spotted the light on in the living   
room and made her way down the corridor   
towards it. The dying fire was still   
glowing in the grate, giving the room a   
sleepy, peaceful feel. Scully found her son   
and Mulder curled up in her armchair   
underneath the afghan. Her partner was   
apparently asleep, and yet still managed to   
support the baby's head, with his chin   
resting against William's temple. Scully   
smiled as she approached the pair, taking   
William into her own arms and placing him   
into a bassinet, that had somehow found its   
way into the living room. She lowered   
herself in front of Mulder so that her face   
was level with his. With gentle fingers she   
smoothed back a few stray hairs from his   
forehead, leaving her hand resting against   
his face for a few more seconds.  
  
"Mulder..." she whispered, smiling as he began   
to open his eyes. "Hey! We've got a lot of   
work to do!"  
  
Her partner looked confused.  
  
"What work?" he rubbed at tired eyes with   
the back of his hand.  
  
"Never mind," she said, realising that her   
attempt at irony had been lost on him.  
  
"Did I wake you?" He asked, sounding   
concerned-he knew that William still tired   
her out. He also knew that, despite what   
she may think, she couldn't manage with a   
new baby all by herself. That was one of   
the reasons he'd moved in...that and the fact   
he'd confessed his undying love for her.   
Well, in his own way. He treated Scully   
differently to her predecessors, despite the   
fact that all the women shared the same   
character trait-total independence. He was   
subtler, more careful. It was as if he was   
terrified that if he'd come on too strong   
she would have got scared and run away.   
He'd been in love with her for a very long   
time, and hoped that she felt the same way;   
but he couldn't run the risk of finding out.   
If she'd quit the FBI and he'd never seen   
her again it would have been too painful,   
but that was something he couldn't admit to   
himself for a very long time. Very few   
people were allowed to see past his   
professionality, the "Spooky Mulder" facade.   
He wasn't sappy by any stretch of the   
imagination, and had no intention of being   
viewed in that way. Besides which, if   
Scully had left he would have lost so much-a   
wonderful partner, and the best friend he   
had ever had, someone closer to him than his   
own mother had been.  
  
"Hey! Mulder!"   
  
He realised he must have phased her out   
while she was talking.  
  
"What?" He was jerked back to reality.  
  
"You coming to bed or are you going to stay   
here all night?"  
  
Mulder stretched and got out of the   
armchair, watching as Scully lifted William   
out of the bassinet, in preparation for   
taking him back to the crib in their room.   
They should really start thinking about   
getting a bigger place-William was only   
three months but it wouldn't be too long   
before he needed his own room. Mulder crept   
up behind his partner as she lowered the   
baby into the crib, slipping his arms around   
her waist and placing a gentle kiss on her   
neck. She placed her own hands over his and   
relaxed back into the embrace.  
  
"I can't believe he's ours, Mulder," she   
smiled, shaking her head in disbelief.   
Mulder smiled too, but he had no response to   
offer so kept quiet.  
  
"Come on," Scully said eventually, gently   
slapping the backs of his hands in a playful   
attempt to make him let go of her. "I'm   
exhausted!"  
  
"Scully...?" Mulder turned her round to face   
him.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
He regarded her for a few moments before   
drawing her into a long kiss.  
  
"You know, Mulder, much as I love this   
method of conversation, sometimes words are   
good too."  
  
He laughed and followed her into bed.  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
She didn't know what it was exactly that   
stirred her from sleep, but a quick glance   
at the clock on the nightstand told her it   
was too early to be getting-up-time. It   
didn't take her long to realise that the   
phone was ringing, and that was what had   
woken her.  
  
"Hello?" She mumbled into the mouthpiece.   
"Oh, yeah, sure. I'll just get him for   
you." She turned to the sleeping figure   
beside her and shook him gently. "Sweetie,   
it's for you," she handed him the phone.  
  
"Hello? Mom? What the...it's 6:30am! Of   
course I remember...yes...I will...bye bye," he   
replaced the handset and turned to his   
fiancee. "She says I shouldn't be sleeping   
with the Bride on the night before my wedding,"   
he grinned, leaning in for a kiss.  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
"Scully, I am sure Will would have   
remembered to get up on his own wedding   
day," Mulder was on his knees in front of   
the closet, hunting for his smart shoes.  
  
"Oh come on, Mulder! You know what he's   
like!" His wife called from the bathroom;   
"he was late for his graduation and look at   
the mess that got him in!"  
  
Mulder remembered with a grin the scene that   
day-Scully with her head buried in his   
shoulder in embarrassment as their son tore   
onto the stage, his robe inside out and   
hanging off one shoulder. He then went on   
to knock over the little table where the   
scrolls were, sending them all flying into   
the audience before finally falling over an   
electric cable and tripping out all the   
microphones.  
  
"Hey, Mulder, do you remember *our* wedding   
day?" Scully's voice penetrated Mulder's   
thoughts.  
  
"Ohhhh yeah," he grinned.  
  
"I said *wedding*," Scully emerged from   
around the bathroom door and began gesturing   
with a toothbrush, "*not* honeymoon."   
Mulder pulled her into his lap from where he   
was sitting on the floor.  
  
"Look, I found your dress," he smiled,   
dragging it out with the arm that wasn't   
wrapped around his wife. Scully lifted the   
lid and began fingering the delicate lace of   
her veil.  
  
"Terri's wearing red," she sighed, referring   
to their son's fiancee, "not exactly   
traditional." Her hands brushed over the   
layers of tissue protecting the white satin   
that lay beneath. Her dress had been quite   
simple-a lace covered bodice with a full   
skirt, and complimented by a beautiful pearl   
necklace (another Mulder family heirloom).  
  
"Do you remember Frohike's face when he   
caught the bouquet?" Mulder laughed.  
  
"Yeah," Scully grinned, "and then when Reyes   
told him it was traditional for the best man   
to sleep with the Maid of Honour?"  
  
"Can you believe that was nearly twenty   
years ago?" Mulder said, idly fingering the   
small gold bands on his wife's finger.   
Scully shook her head before kissing her   
husband and standing up.  
  
"I have to get ready," she said, "and by the   
way? Your shoes are under the bed."  
  
Mulder huffed out his breath and crawled   
over to the bed. He may have been nearing   
sixty, but years of intensive FBI induced   
exercise had left them both as fit as when   
they were forty.  
  
"Hey Scully! Guess what I found?"  
  
"Surprise me."  
  
"My poster! I thought I lost that years   
ago!"  
  
"It wasn't so much *lost* as it was   
*hidden*," Scully told him, crouching down   
beside him and dragging out the box of   
things from their office. "Oh look, here's   
that photo of Will and Katie," she smiled,   
tracing the outline of the picture with one   
finger.  
  
"Yeah, where is she anyway?" Mulder turned   
round and went off in search of their   
teenage daughter. His wife pushed the box   
back under the bed, after retrieving   
Mulder's shoes. She sighed, thinking how   
many memories there were within this house.   
She and Mulder had moved there when Will was   
about eighteen months old, and they'd been   
married six months later. Mulder hadn't   
proposed in the traditional, "down on one   
knee", begging kind of way, maybe because he   
knew she'd say yes.  
  
They were curled up on the sofa together in   
her apartment, watching some cheesy black   
and white horror movie and eating popcorn.   
It had been a cold winter and it was snowing   
bitterly outside. So, the fire was in and   
the pair were huddled up under the afghan.  
  
"Scully..." Mulder began, clearing his throat   
nervously before proceeding-he still wanted   
this to be perfect. "Scully, I've been   
thinking...about us. You know, that you're my   
best friend and I never *needed* anyone   
until I met you. You changed my life, you   
changed the way I look at things...and I guess   
what I am trying to say is...Scully, I love   
you. I want to spend the rest of my life   
with you-there's no way I could risk losing   
you...so, I suppose, the best way for me to do   
this is to say: 'will you marry me?'" From   
his pocket he had produced a ring- a modest   
gold band with a single diamond, that caught   
the firelight and sent shimmering patterns   
around the room. Scully was silent as she   
took the ring, slipping it on her finger and   
holding it to the light. Then, in a split   
second, her eyes met Mulder's and she pulled   
him into a passionate kiss.  
  
  
"Hey! Scully! C'mon! It's time to go,"   
Mulder rounded the bedroom door, then   
stopped short as he saw his wife, still   
crouched in her position on the floor.   
"Y'ok, honeybunch?" He used the phrase not   
as a genuine pet name, but as a joke-a reminder   
of their case undercover. She smiled and   
rolled her eyes.  
  
"Yeah, come on, Rob. Let's go."  
  
He laughed and put his arm around her,   
guiding her towards the door.  
  
"Scully, just remember this-we're still   
young...ish...it's not time to start looking   
back instead of forwards yet. Ok?"  
  
She smiled and squeezed his hand.  
  
"Love you."  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
The End  
  
XXXXXXX  
  
Ok so please please lemme know what you   
thought!  



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